"'Cause I want the steamboat to stop," answered Laddie. "It jiggles so—make believe, you know—I'm afraid I'll drop my sugar cookie in the water."
"You mustn't say 'whoa' on a boat!" went on Russ.
"Laddie was thinking he was out on Uncle Frank's ranch, riding a cow pony, I guess," said Rose. "That's why he said 'whoa'; didn't you, Laddie?"
"I guess so," answered the little fellow. "And I know a riddle about a cow. Why is it that a brown cow eats green grass that makes white milk and turns into yellow butter?"
"That isn't a riddle—it's just something funny. And, besides, you've said that before," said Rose.
"Well, anyhow, can't I have a sugar cookie?" asked Laddie. "And we'll make believe the steamboat has stopped, and we can pretend we're on a picnic."
"All right," agreed Russ, as he gave the spinning wheel a few more turns. "I'll bank the fires—that means I'll turn 'em off so they won't get so hot—and we'll go ashore."
"All ashore!" yelled Laddie.
"Is they enough sugar cookies for all of us?" asked Mun Bun, as he and Margy arose from the low stools where they had been sitting.
"Oh, yes, plenty," Russ answered. "I asked Norah to put a lot of 'em in a bag and I guess she did. Here, Rose, you can pass 'em around, and I'll tie the steamboat fast."